New Hampshire Brewfest returns to Portsmouth’s Redhook on Saturday

Thursday

Oct 4, 2012 at 3:38 PMOct 4, 2012 at 3:38 PM

By Michelle Kingstonmkingston@fosters.com

PORTSMOUTH — The 4th annual New Hampshire BrewFest returns to Redhook Brewery on Saturday with more 150 craft beers.As a special fundraiser for the Prescott Park Arts Festival, in partnership with Master Brewers Association of America, Redhook Brewery and WHEB 100.3 radio, Redhook’s backyard will transform into a beer lover’s dream. There will be 37 breweries from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts and as far away as Illinois, California and Hawaii, giving away samples of their creations like Ginja Ninja IPA, Hog Happy Hefeweizen, Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Ale, Bourbon Barrel Aged ESB and Redhook’s latest rendition of Winterhook. The brewery’s winter seasonal, Winterhook, has a rich caramel and gingerbread body with an unrestrained portion of hops and a dry hop finish. This beer will be hitting shelves later this month and is only available through January.“Winterhook is a great beer to warm you up after a long day on the mountain,” said Jen Talley, Redhook brewmaster. “This year’s winter seasonal offers bold hop flavors for the hop heads, followed by a sizable portion of Munich and caramel malts to balance out the beer.”Other Redhook beers that will be available at BrewFest are Pumpkin Porter, Long Hammer IPA, Winter Hook #28 and Pilsner.Local food from Redhook, Joe’s New York Pizza and the Meat House will be available and music, provided by WHEB, will be provided throughout the event, from 1 p.m. until 9. The first band, Clear River, will play from 1 to 4 p.m. and the Blue James Band will play from 6 to 9 p.m.“We are extremely excited about this year’s festival. It is bigger and better than any year yet. We have added more space to the festival to give people more area to enjoy the great beers and live music. We have added more breweries this year, and added significantly more beers,” said Andy Schwartz, brewer and brand specialist at Redhook Brewery. “We will even have beers for those who are gluten intolerant this year.”The event has sold out the past three years, so event staff suggests purchasing special discounted tickets online at www.brewnh.com.